He Has Overcome the World!!!

  

This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians: "Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, "Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.""(Jeremiah 50:1-2)

Chapters 50 and 51, two of the longest in the book of Jeremiah, are devoted to the destruction and overthrow of Babylon. Everywhere in Scripture, Babylon is a symbol of the great enemy of God, especially as the devil uses false religious authority to claim earthly standing, prestige, and power.

Do you remember where Babylon began? In the tower of Babel, after the Flood. Why did men erect the tower of Babel? They erected a tower to ascend into the heavens and become like God. Under Nimrod it became the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth. It became the fountainhead of idolatry and began to export these ideas all throughout the world. It was so that they might make a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4). Babylonianism is the attempt to gain some prestige or status in the eyes of the world by religious authority. Every religion in the world seeks that. Whole systems of religion have been seized and these systems seek to gain great authority, to be known as princes and kings and powers in the world today. It all began with the tower of Babel.

Just as Babylon itself was the great destructive power against Judah, so Babylon's turn must come. Out of the north, the Medes and the Persians would come against Babylon and overthrow this great kingdom. Despite its tremendous walls, its vast palaces, its ornate hanging gardens, its huge size, and its great armies — the greatest power of the world of that day — at the very height of its power God declares that it shall be totally lost.

There are many who say that Babylon must be built again because of the prophecies in the book of Revelation that refer to Babylon. But the reference there is to "Mystery Babylon the great," (Revelation 17:5 KJV). So this is not the actual, literal city, but that for which Babylon stands — the idolatrous practices and the blasphemous assumption of power by religious authority. That is what is going to be destroyed, as the book of Revelation says. Yet here in Chapter 51, we are given a description of the destruction of this actual city, which is picked up and used again in Revelation.

Babylon symbolizes the enemy arrayed against us — the devil — and the two channels through which he attacks us — the world, and the flesh. These are forces with great power, bringing to pass all the terrible things recorded in our daily newspapers. God is adequate for all of them! Jesus speaks of these troubles in the world, assuring us, "But take heart. I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) Faith in a living God can overcome the power of the world, can beat back the deceitfulness of the flesh, and can overcome the roaring, lion-like qualities of the devil in our life, so that we can stand free in the midst of the bondage of this age. Babylon shall sink and never rise again.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the promise that you will defeat the forces that are arrayed against me, symbolized forever by Babylon. Help me to walk by faith in the victory you have promised, and have given me in Christ. In His name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What evil worldly power is symbolized by Babylon? Have we learned to identify this power as we encounter media reports of worldwide terror and suffering? To whom do we turn for personal deliverance and ultimate worldly triumph?

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Defeating Worldliness

 

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations: Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah...

Jeremiah 46:1-2

This takes us back to the year 605 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar first came up against Judah. He was met by the armies of Egypt at the city of Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and there one of the great strategic battles of all history was fought. Until then, Egypt had been the most powerful nation of the day, but Babylon broke the power of Egypt at that place. In chapter 46, Jeremiah is describing that battle in advance — how long in advance we do not know. He describes in very vivid terms the advance of the Babylonian army, the clash of these conflicting forces, the terrible battle that ensued, and the final defeat of Egypt. 

In the midst of this a characterization is made of Egypt. In the Scriptures Egypt is a picture of the world and its influence upon us. Egypt was a place of tyranny and bondage for the people of Israel. They were under the yoke of a wicked and severe king who enslaved them and treated them cruelly. Yet strangely enough, after they escaped, it was the place they always fondly remembered and wanted to return to. They remembered the food, the comfort, and the ease of life in Egypt. So this has always stood as a picture of the lure of the world to the believer — to think as it thinks, to react as it reacts, to seek from the world your own satisfaction and pleasure and enjoyment instead of living for the glory of God.

Now, when I refer to "the world" I am not talking about people, nor about doing any specific so-called "worldly" thing. That is not what worldliness is. Worldliness is an attitude of life that causes you to think of living only for your own pleasures and enjoyment. That is what Egypt symbolizes in Scripture. The character of Egypt is described for us in Verses 7-8: "Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge" (Jeremiah 46:7-8a RSV). Every spring the Nile River rises and overflows its banks, and this restores Egypt. The prophet uses this as a picture of the way the world comes at us — in surges and waves. We think we have it licked, but pretty soon it will come at us again. Repeatedly, throughout our lifetime as believers on our spiritual pilgrimage, the world rises to afflict us and to lure us, and seeks to betray us and get us back into bondage again.

But there is another message here about Egypt, Verses 13-24, is delivered by Jeremiah after he had gone into exile in Egypt. Here he describes the forthcoming invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, which took place after Jeremiah's death. In accord with this prophesy, Nebuchadnezzar came down into Egypt and took over the land. In the midst of this prophesy is another characterization of Egypt, "Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, "Noisy one who lets the hour go by."" (Jeremiah 46:17 RSV)

Isn't that a strange name to give somebody? That is the characterization of Egypt — and the world. It is one of the ways we can recognize the world: it loves noise, because it does not want to stop and think. It loves to kill time. The world comes at us constantly, trying to get us to think only in terms of immediate pleasure and indulgence, and forgetting that it leads to slavery and bondage. So God punishes Egypt — that is the message here.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the faithfulness of your word. Teach me to stand against the world and stay faithful to you in this day of moral dissolution. Grant me wisdom and insight, Holy Spirit, into the areas where I am following the world and may I repent, and follow You only. In the name of Jesus, my example and Lord I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: Are we learning to identify and compare worldly attitudes by comparing them with God's Word of Truth? Have we succumbed to the worldly distraction of noise?

Receive the Daily Devotion by Email from RayStedman.org

Overthrow the Flesh

 

Read the Scripture: Jeremiah 45:1-5

But the Lord has told me to say to you, "This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life."

Jeremiah 45:4-5

What is the root of all our troubles with the flesh? It is seeking great things for ourselves. That is behind the naiveté, the secret vengeance, the treachery and murder, the unjustified fear, the pious deceit, the baseless hopes, the misdirected blame, the insolent rebellion — all of these arise out of a heart which longs to have glory that belongs to God. That is the basic problem, is it not? As we look at this we say to ourselves, "Who is sufficient for these things? How can we lick this terrible enemy within?" The only answer, of course, is the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. This is all that has ever been able to deal with the flesh in man's life: the cross which puts it to death; the resurrection which provides another life in its place. That is the glory of the gospel.

Near Watsonville, California there is a creek that has a strange name: Salsi Puedes Creek. Salsi Puedes is Spanish for "Get out of it if you can." The creek is lined with quicksand, and the story is that many years ago, in the early days of California, a Mexican laborer fell into the quicksand. A Spaniard, riding by on a horse, saw him and yelled out to him, "Salsi puedes! (Get out if you can!)" which was not very helpful. The creek has been so named ever since.

That is what the flesh is like. We struggle to correct these tendencies ourselves, but we cannot do it. Only God has the wisdom to do it. That is why Jeremiah's word in the tenth chapter comes to mind again. He said, "I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." And we are driven again to the wisdom of the Proverbs:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not unto your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Nothing else will do it. Your own heart will deceive you. If you follow your own desires, your own likings, you will end up trapped. Only the wisdom of the Word, only an honest acknowledgment of what is going on in your life will suffice. Bring it to God and tell him the whole thing, and trust him to have put your flesh to death on his cross. And rely upon his resurrection to live by from there on, upon his power and his grace to lead you through. It is his knowledge of this tendency of the flesh which has led our Lord to include in the Lord's Prayer the little phrase which I pray every day, and I hope you will too: "Lead us not into temptation."

Prayer: Father, I pray that you will indeed lead me away from temptation. Lead me from this evil thing within me from which I cannot by myself escape. Deliver me from evil by the power of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. In His name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What are identifying characteristics of the flesh? Have we learned to recognize the root problem? Are we choosing God's glory over our own, His power over our weakness?

Receive the Daily Devotion by Email from RayStedman.org

Heal Our Land - Jeremiah 39:1-18

 

Read the Scripture: Jeremiah 39:1-18

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate... When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah.

Jeremiah 39:1-4

In the further historic detail given in the last chapter of Jeremiah, we are told that they burned the temple of God as well. The long-delayed hour of judgment came at last. The city was taken. The temple was burned. As you read this account you can see a certain poetic justice which is always characteristic of the judgments of God. The city that refused God, God refused. He granted them their own desires, in other words. The temple that burned incense to idols was itself burned. The king who would not see had his eyes put out. The people who held their slaves captives were themselves led captive by the Babylonians. This is always the way God works. His judgment is to give you exactly what you are asking for, to let you finally have your way — but to the fullest extent, beyond anything you would desire.

A nation must never forget that, ultimately, the judgment of God will come. "The mills of God grind slow, but they grind exceeding small." Sooner or later judgment will fall. No nation has the right to continue to exist as a nation when it continually violates these requirements of God's justice. Therefore the hand of doom rests upon any nation that deliberately refuses to hear and heed the will of God. Ultimately, judgment will come. No political manipulation will avert it. No partial compromise will delay, no defiance will evade what God has said. It will come at last — some eleventh year, ninth month, and fourth day, when a breach is made in the walls of the city, and judgment and destruction can no longer be averted.

There are several ways by which individuals and nations seek to turn aside the will of God. First, a people can ignore and refuse to listen to God, and give themselves over to things that help them forget — to a life of debauchery and revelry, refusing to hear and heed the Word of God. Second, a people can persecute the prophets of God, and hinder the message of God. There will be the developing of a callous attitude against the preaching of the Word of God. Third, a people can seek to circumvent the catastrophe which is coming by political maneuvering and manipulations. Finally, a people can compromise in outward ways, but fall short of real submission to God. That is when a people become outwardly religious, learning the "God-words" and practice civil religion, but their hearts remain unchanged

There is only one attitude that will avert the coming judgment of God: repentance, deep humiliation before God, an understanding and acknowledgment of guilt, a willingness to recognize that we have lost our right to exist as a nation, and a cry to God that he will heal us and change us and forgive us and heal this land. When that occurs, God himself assumes responsibility to recover the nation. Despite all the damage which has been done, he will restore the years that the locusts have eaten. But if a nation ignores God, it goes down into the dust of history, as hundreds of kingdoms and nations before us have perished.

Prayer: Lord, I ask you to heal us as a nation. Heal our land, and turn us from evil. May we repent before you, in humility, understanding and acknowledgment of our guilt, recognizing that we have lost the right to exist as a nation. We cry out to You to heal us, change us, forgive us. In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we ask this O Lord, Amen. 

Life Application: What are four ways individuals and nations seek to avert the will of God? Since each of these is unmistakably present in contemporary culture, what is the urgently needed response for us individually and as members of Christ's body, the Church?

Receive the Daily Devotion by Email from RayStedman.org

He Has Overcome the World! - Jeremiah 50-51

This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians: "Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, "Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.""(Jeremiah 50:1-2)

Chapters 50 and 51, two of the longest in the book, are devoted to the destruction and overthrow of Babylon. Everywhere in Scripture Babylon is a symbol of the great enemy of God, especially as the devil uses false religious authority to claim earthly standing, prestige, and power.

Do you remember where Babylon began? In the tower of Babel, after the Flood. Why did men erect the tower of Babel? They erected a tower to ascend into the heavens and become like God. Under Nimrod it became the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth. It became the fountainhead of idolatry and began to export these ideas all throughout the world. It was so that they might make a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4). Babylonianism is the attempt to gain some prestige or status in the eyes of the world by religious authority. Every religion in the world seeks that. Whole systems of religion have been seized and these systems seek to gain great authority, to be known as princes and kings and powers in the world today. It all began with the tower of Babel.

Just as Babylon itself was the great destructive power against Judah, so Babylon's turn must come. Out of the north, the Medes and the Persians would come against Babylon and overthrow this great kingdom. Despite its tremendous walls, its vast palaces, its ornate hanging gardens, its huge size, and its great armies — the greatest power of the world of that day — at the very height of its power God declares that it shall be totally lost.

There are many who say that Babylon must be built again because of the prophecies in the book of Revelation that refer to Babylon. But the reference there is to "Mystery Babylon the great," (Revelation 17:5 KJV). So this is not the actual, literal city, but that for which Babylon stands — the idolatrous practices and the blasphemous assumption of power by religious authority. That is what is going to be destroyed, as the book of Revelation says. Yet here in Chapter 51, we are given a description of the destruction of this actual city, which is picked up and used again in Revelation.

Babylon symbolizes the enemy arrayed against us — the devil — and the two channels through which he attacks us — the world, and the flesh. These are forces with great power, bringing to pass all the terrible things recorded in our daily newspapers. God is adequate for all of them. Jesus speaks of these troubles in the world, assuring us, "But take heart. I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) Faith in a living God can overcome the power of the world, can beat back the deceitfulness of the flesh, and can overcome the roaring, lion-like qualities of the devil in our life, so that we can stand free in the midst of the bondage of this age. Babylon shall sink and never rise again.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the promise that you will defeat the forces that are arrayed against me, symbolized forever by Babylon. Help me to walk by faith in the victory you have promised, and have given me in Christ. In His name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What evil worldly power is symbolized by Babylon? Have we learned to identify this power as we encounter media reports of worldwide terror and suffering? To whom do we turn for personal deliverance and ultimate worldly triumph?

Receive the Daily Devotion by Email from RayStedman.org

Defeating Worldliness - Jeremiah 46:1-28

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations: Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah...

Jeremiah 46:1-2

This takes us back to the year 605 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar first came up against Judah. He was met by the armies of Egypt at the city of Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and there one of the great strategic battles of all history was fought. Until then, Egypt had been the most powerful nation of the day, but Babylon broke the power of Egypt at that place. In chapter 46, Jeremiah is describing that battle in advance — how long in advance we do not know. He describes in very vivid terms the advance of the Babylonian army, the clash of these conflicting forces, the terrible battle that ensued, and the final defeat of Egypt. We will not take time to cover these verses, but you can read them for yourself. The language is very beautiful.

However, in the midst of this a characterization is made of Egypt. In the Scriptures Egypt is a picture of the world and its influence upon us. Egypt was a place of tyranny and bondage for the people of Israel. They were under the yoke of a wicked and severe king who enslaved them and treated them cruelly. Yet strangely enough, after they escaped, it was the place they always fondly remembered and wanted to return to. They remembered the food, the comfort, and the ease of life in Egypt. So this has always stood as a picture of the lure of the world to the believer — to think as it thinks, to react as it reacts, to seek from the world your own satisfaction and pleasure and enjoyment instead of living for the glory of God.

Now, when I refer to "the world" I am not talking about people, nor about doing any specific so-called "worldly" thing. That is not what worldliness is. Worldliness is an attitude of life that causes you to think of living only for your own pleasures and enjoyment. That is what Egypt symbolizes in Scripture. The character of Egypt is described for us in Verses 7-8: "Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge" (Jeremiah 46:7-8a RSV). Every spring the Nile River rises and overflows its banks, and this restores Egypt. The prophet uses this as a picture of the way the world comes at us — in surges and waves. We think we have it licked, but pretty soon it will come at us again. Repeatedly, throughout our lifetime as believers on our spiritual pilgrimage, the world rises to afflict us and to lure us, and seeks to betray us and get us back into bondage again.

But there is another message here about Egypt, Verses 13-24, delivered by Jeremiah after he had gone into exile in Egypt. Here he describes the forthcoming invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, which took place after Jeremiah's death. In accord with this prophesy, Nebuchadnezzar came down into Egypt and took over the land. In the midst of this prophesy is another characterization of Egypt, "Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, "Noisy one who lets the hour go by."" (Jeremiah 46:17 RSV)

Isn't that a strange name to give somebody? That is the characterization of Egypt — and the world. It is one of the ways we can recognize the world: it loves noise, because it does not want to stop and think. It loves to kill time. The world comes at us constantly, trying to get us to think only in terms of immediate pleasure and indulgence, and forgetting that it leads to slavery and bondage. So God punishes Egypt — that is the message here.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the faithfulness of your word. Teach me to stand against the world and stay faithful to you in this day of moral dissolution. Grant me wisdom and insight, Holy Spirit, into the areas where I am following the world and may I repent, and follow You only. In the name of Jesus, my example and Lord I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: Are we learning to identify and compare worldly attitudes by comparing them with God's Word of Truth? Have we succumbed to the worldly distraction of noise?

Receive the Daily Devotion by Email from RayStedman.org

Overthrow the Flesh - Jeremiah 45:1-5

Read the Scripture: Jeremiah 45:1-5

But the Lord has told me to say to you, "This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life."

Jeremiah 45:4-5

What is the root of all our troubles with the flesh? It is seeking great things for ourselves. That is behind the naiveté, the secret vengeance, the treachery and murder, the unjustified fear, the pious deceit, the baseless hopes, the misdirected blame, the insolent rebellion — all of these arise out of a heart which longs to have glory that belongs to God. That is the basic problem, is it not? As we look at this we say to ourselves, "Who is sufficient for these things? How can we lick this terrible enemy within?" The only answer, of course, is the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. This is all that has ever been able to deal with the flesh in man's life: the cross which puts it to death; the resurrection which provides another life in its place. That is the glory of the gospel.

Near Watsonville, California there is a creek that has a strange name: Salsi Puedes Creek. Salsi Puedes is Spanish for "Get out of it if you can." The creek is lined with quicksand, and the story is that many years ago, in the early days of California, a Mexican laborer fell into the quicksand. A Spaniard, riding by on a horse, saw him and yelled out to him, "Salsi puedes! (Get out if you can!)" which was not very helpful. The creek has been so named ever since.

That is what the flesh is like. We struggle to correct these tendencies ourselves, but we cannot do it. Only God has the wisdom to do it. That is why Jeremiah's word in the tenth chapter comes to mind again. He said, "I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." And we are driven again to the wisdom of the Proverbs:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not unto your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Nothing else will do it. Your own heart will deceive you. If you follow your own desires, your own likings, you will end up trapped. Only the wisdom of the Word, only an honest acknowledgment of what is going on in your life will suffice. Bring it to God and tell him the whole thing, and trust him to have put your flesh to death on his cross. And rely upon his resurrection to live by from there on, upon his power and his grace to lead you through. It is his knowledge of this tendency of the flesh which has led our Lord to include in the Lord's Prayer the little phrase which I pray every day, and I hope you will too: "Lead us not into temptation."

Prayer: Father, I pray that you will indeed lead me away from temptation. Lead me from this evil thing within me from which I cannot by myself escape. Deliver me from evil by the power of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. In His name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What are identifying characteristics of the flesh? Have we learned to recognize the root problem? Are we choosing God's glory over our own, His power over our weakness?

Receive the Daily Devotion by Email from RayStedman.org

Heal Our Land - Jeremiah 39:1-18

Read the Scripture: Jeremiah 39:1-18

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate... When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah.

Jeremiah 39:1-4

In the further historic detail given in the last chapter of Jeremiah, we are told that they burned the temple of God as well. The long-delayed hour of judgment came at last. The city was taken. The temple was burned. As you read this account you can see a certain poetic justice which is always characteristic of the judgments of God. The city that refused God, God refused. He granted them their own desires, in other words. The temple that burned incense to idols was itself burned. The king who would not see had his eyes put out. The people who held their slaves captives were themselves led captive by the Babylonians. This is always the way God works. His judgment is to give you exactly what you are asking for, to let you finally have your way — but to the fullest extent, beyond anything you would desire.

A nation must never forget that, ultimately, the judgment of God will come. "The mills of God grind slow, but they grind exceeding small." Sooner or later judgment will fall. No nation has the right to continue to exist as a nation when it continually violates these requirements of God's justice. Therefore the hand of doom rests upon any nation that deliberately refuses to hear and heed the will of God. Ultimately, judgment will come. No political manipulation will avert it. No partial compromise will delay, no defiance will evade what God has said. It will come at last — some eleventh year, ninth month, and fourth day, when a breach is made in the walls of the city, and judgment and destruction can no longer be averted.

There are several ways by which individuals and nations seek to turn aside the will of God. First, a people can ignore and refuse to listen to God, and give themselves over to things that help them forget — to a life of debauchery and revelry, refusing to hear and heed the Word of God. Second, a people can persecute the prophets of God, and hinder the message of God. There will be the developing of a callous attitude against the preaching of the Word of God. Third, a people can seek to circumvent the catastrophe which is coming by political maneuvering and manipulations. Finally, a people can compromise in outward ways, but fall short of real submission to God. That is when a people become outwardly religious, learning the "God-words" and practice civil religion, but their hearts remain unchanged

There is only one attitude that will avert the coming judgment of God: repentance, deep humiliation before God, an understanding and acknowledgment of guilt, a willingness to recognize that we have lost our right to exist as a nation, and a cry to God that he will heal us and change us and forgive us and heal this land. When that occurs, God himself assumes responsibility to recover the nation. Despite all the damage which has been done, he will restore the years that the locusts have eaten. But if a nation ignores God, it goes down into the dust of history, as hundreds of kingdoms and nations before us have perished.

Prayer: Lord, I ask you to heal us as a nation. Heal our land, and turn us from evil. May we repent before you, in humility, understanding and acknowledgment of our guilt, recognizing that we have lost the right to exist as a nation. We cry out to You to heal us, change us, forgive us. In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we ask this O Lord, Amen. 

Life Application: What are four ways individuals and nations seek to avert the will of God? Since each of these is unmistakably present in contemporary culture, what is the urgently needed response for us individually and as members of Christ's body, the Church?

Receive the Daily Devotion by Email from RayStedman.org

The Fear of the Lord - Jeremiah 36:1-32

Read Jeremiah 36:1-32

So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah 36:32

Judgment came against Jehoiakim not simply because he acted foolishly in burning the Scriptures but because of the condition of heart which that action revealed. This is given to us in one flaming sentence in Verse 24: "Yet neither the king, nor any of his servants who heard all these words, was afraid, nor did they rend their garments." These men had lost the fear of God. And when a nation or a people or an individual loses the fear of God, they are on their way to destruction. For the fear of God is based upon the sovereign power which he exercises in life. These men were shown to be stupid and senseless men who had lost their sense of reality entirely, because they had lost the fear of God.

There is one great fact everywhere revealed — in Scripture, in history, and even in nature — which has been called "the law of retribution." That is, there is an inevitable consequence for doing wrong, and there is no way to escape it. Even an atheist, who does not believe in God at all, must admit that when he examines the laws of nature he is faced with the conclusion that you either obey the laws of nature and live, or disobey them and die. And man is helpless to change that. We are in the grip of forces greater than we are, and everything on every side testifies to this. That is why we learn respect for the laws of electricity. You do not fool around with 10,000 volts of electrical potential, thinking you are going to make up the laws as you go along. You had better find out what they are first, for you disobey them to your peril and death.

This is what God has implanted in every part of life. How foolish and utterly stupid is the person who seeks to ignore that fact. God requires of every nation that there be the recognition of his sovereign government of men, and the law of retribution for evil. History has testified repeatedly that God always accomplishes what he says he is going to do. God rules in the affairs of men. Napoleon, at the height of his career, once very boldly said, "God is on the side that has the heaviest artillery" — his cynical answer to someone who asked if God was on the side of France. Then came the Battle of Waterloo, where he lost both the battle and his empire. Years later, in exile on the island of St. Helena, chastened and humbled, Napoleon said, "Man proposes; God disposes." This is the lesson with which life seeks to confront us. God is able to work his sovereign will — despite man. Therefore the basic, elementary knowledge of life with which everyone ought to start is the fear of God.

Prayer: Our Father, these words sober me. I pray that I will not point the finger of self-righteousness at others, but rather will acknowledge the times I have not shown you the fear worthy of your name. May I exhibit the fear of You, O Lord, in every aspect of my life. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Life Application: Is the arrogant defiance of God in our cultural environment eroding our reverent fear of our holy God? Do we need to inventory our hearts for signs of self righteous pride?

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Profaning His Name - Jeremiah 34:15-16

Read the Scripture: Jeremiah 34:1-22

Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

Jeremiah 34:15-16

The remarkable phrase in this passage is, "you profaned my name." This was a serious charge to any Jew. They had been brought up to revere and respect the name of God. The scribes did not even dare to write the name of God without taking a bath and changing their clothes. And they never pronounced it. The four Hebrew letters used for the name of God they called "The Ineffable Tetragrammaton" — the unpronounceable or unspeakable four letters. They never spoke the name of God. Yet God's charge against this king is, "You have profaned my name." The Hebrew word translated profane, means "wound," "pierce," or "deface." God's charge is, "You have defaced me." How did they do it? By failing to respect the human rights of slaves. It is an act of blasphemy against God to treat another person as somewhat less than a person. That is what God holds a nation to account for.

As we think of our own American history, we can see what a heavy charge must be leveled against this country. How were the American Indians, the original inhabitants of this land, treated; or the Africans  brought forcibly into the country and then made into slaves? The Chinese, the Irish, the Polish...treated as less because of their skin color or nationality? What about the millions of babies killed through abortion? The God of the nations says, "That is a profanation of my name. You have profaned my name when you have done a thing like that." 

It is always healthy for me to remember that God's view of my spirituality, His judgment of whether I am a spiritual-minded person or not, is based not upon how I treat my friends and those I like, but how I treat the waiter at the table, or the clerk in the store, or the janitor. This is the mark of spirituality. In other words, God requires of a people that they respect the rights of all humanity. And when there is a violation of that, God takes it to account.

Prayer: Father, we pray that we continue to respect humanity as we live spiritual-minded lives. Show each of us where we are wrong in how we have treated another and, if possible, show us how to rectify that. Lead us to the true belief that all of us are equal in Your eyes and help us to place You in the holy. all powerful position You deserve in our minds and hearts. We love You Jesus. Thank you! In Your name we ask this, Amen. 

Life Application: Are we compelled by God's love, seeing others through his eyes? How does this differ from the worldly point of view? Do we claim to represent Christ but dishonor his name by mistreating and demeaning others?

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Faith and Doubt - Jeremiah 32:11-26

 

I (Jeremiah) took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions:  ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.  For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty,  great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.  You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours.  You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror.  You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.  They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.

“See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see.  And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’”

Jeremiah 32:11-26

What a ringing testimony to the power and greatness of God! God had said the land ultimately would be restored, and this deed would be valid. Therefore, it was to be put in a safe place. That is what Jeremiah did. He sent Baruch down to the title company and had him bring a deed to be signed. He acted before witnesses, and had the witnesses sign the deed and the copy — one to be sealed in a safe deposit box, the other to be kept by Jeremiah himself and passed on to his heirs, so that eventually they might claim title to this land. He worked in this normal way, and then clearly announced the purpose of it all: "It is because God says there will be houses and fields and vineyards bought in this land again."

Faith takes no halfway measures. There is no hedging of Jeremiah's bets here, no saying to these people, "Well, I'm just buying this property on speculation, hoping it will all work out, but it's just a gamble, a shot in the dark." No, he assures them that God has spoken, and that everything he is doing is consistent with the word of God.

Later in chapter 32, another quality of faith comes in. Beginning with verse 16 and continuing through verse 25, a remarkable prayer of Jeremiah is recorded. These are Jeremiah's private thoughts about this deed. Before men this prophet is bold and resolute and confident. But before God he admits that he is not quite so sure this is all going to work out. He says to the Lord in verse 25, "And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, "Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed."" I am glad this account is here, because this is what we might call "the doubtings of faith."

Faith always has its doubts. I once had the impression that if you doubted, you could not have faith — that faith and doubt were contrary to one another. But I gradually began to understand that this is not true. Doubt is the proof of faith. Doubt is actually an attack upon the very faith we have. You cannot have doubts unless you have faith. Faith is the way God works, and so the enemy is bound to attack your faith immediately as he sees you beginning to act and live and walk by faith. Therefore doubts will begin to arise — as a result of Satan's attempt to overthrow your faith. There is no faith without doubts.

Jesus himself, though he always lived by faith, and everything he did was by faith, nevertheless was subjected to times of severe doubt. Otherwise he was not "one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning," (Hebrews 4:15 RSV). Doubt is part of the life of faith. If you are trying to walk by faith in a promise God has given you, and you are troubled by doubts, this is the proof you are really living by faith. Hang in there! Do not let your doubts overthrow you.

Prayer: Father, thank you for reminding me of the kind of God you are. I rest upon your faithfulness, praying that I will be strengthened by faith to walk as the prophet walked in the midst of my own challenging times. I turn my doubts over to You and ask for more faith. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: Are we learning to see our doubts as corollary to our faith? Do we process our doubts through what we have proven to be true? Have we experienced the holy fear of audacious faith?

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Genuine Faith - Jeremiah 32:1-10

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”

Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’ “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.  I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

Jeremiah 32:1-10

That is a remarkable act of faith. It belongs with those acts of faith in the record of Hebrews 11. As we examine it, we learn what it means to walk by faith. Every one of us is called to walk by faith, and there are certain qualities of faith seen here.

First there is what we might call "the caution of faith." Notice how the account progressed. God said to Jeremiah, in the loneliness of his prison, "Your cousin Hanamel is coming to you, offering to sell his field." A little later on the account says, "Then Hanamel my cousin came to me ... in accordance with the word of the Lord." Later still, "Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord." The important thing to see is how Jeremiah tested this impression he received.

Many of us have wondered how these Old Testament prophets were given "words" from God. Many times you find this phrase in the Scriptures: "The word of the Lord came to me..." How did it come? This account suggests that the usual way God spoke to these prophets was the same way he speaks to us, i.e., through a vivid impression made upon the soul, an inner voice informing us of something.

But the great lesson to learn from this account is that this inner voice is not always the voice of God. Sometimes the god of this world can speak through that inner voice, sounding very much like the voice of God. Many a person has been tremendously injured in his faith, and has damaged the faith of others, by acting impulsively on what this inner voice has to say, without testing whether it is the voice of God or not.

Faith, though it acts in a remarkable way, does not act fanatically. Faith acts cautiously, expecting God to confirm his word. Jeremiah was no novice in the active life of faith. He knew that God would confirm his word, and he had learned to wait upon God. God confirmed the word by fulfilling the prediction he had made.

Yet with all the caution of faith, notice another quality of faith here. It is what we might call "the audacity of faith." This was a thoroughly unreasonable thing to do! It was ridiculous to buy property when the city was about to fall into enemy hands. This is always a quality of faith. Faith has an apparent ridiculousness about it. You are not acting by faith if you are doing what everyone around you is doing. Faith always appears to defy the circumstances. It constitutes a risk and a venture.

Noah built an ark where there was no water, and where there had never been any rain. I am sure the people of his day called him Crazy Noah — building an ark out on the dry land! Abraham went on a journey without a map. People asked him, "Where are you going?" He said, "We don't know; we're just going, that's all. God is leading us." They must have twirled their fingers alongside their heads and said, "Poor Abe — he's lost his marbles!" That is the quality of faith — it acts in an apparently ridiculous way. But it acts this way because it is based on a higher knowledge. It always has a certain basis on which to rest. Therefore faith does not demand that we run out and do foolish, impulsive acts, without any reason. The reason is higher than many people can see, but it is there.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you have called me to walk by faith and sometimes that means in acting in ways that make no sense to the world around me. Help me to trust that you will establish your word and show yourself faithful. And help me to be patient until You confirm Your word to me. Holy Spirit, please guide me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What are two distinguishing elements in a walk of faith? Are we learning to both recognize and receive God's direction for our faith ventures?

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The New Covenant - Jeremiah 31:23-40

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’ People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”...

 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals.  Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord... 

 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah...“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor,  or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar -- the Lord Almighty is his name: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.”

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me...The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Jeremiah 31:23-40

This is a marvelous promise. God is going to do what the people themselves could never do. Despite all their failure, he is going to bring them around. He will do it by a new process. First, he says, "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts." That is a new motive. God is going to change the motivation of a person's life; changing it to come from within instead of without. The "Old Covenant" is a demand made on us from without. This is impossible for us to carry out. But the "New Covenant" is something put within us. What is it? Love. Love is the motive in the New Covenant. To respond out of love for God, out of love for what he has already done in our life and heart, that is the new motive.

The second manifestation is a new power. "I will be their God, and they will be my people." God himself is the strength of man's life. God Himself dwells within believers through the Holy Spirit. He supplies all the power to act. They are the ones who do the acting; he is the One who does the supplying. This is a beautiful description of the New Covenant. "Everything coming from God; nothing coming from me." Not, "I, trying to do something for God," but "God doing something for me, through me, in everything I do." That is the new power.

Then there is a new family. "No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, "Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. All those in the family know each other. We already know what are the dominant drives, and underlying hopes and passions of each life, because they are all the same: That we might know Him better, become like Him. That is why, when Christians meet one another, though they have never met before, they always have a ground of sharing. They know each other and share the same life.

The New Covenant rests on this great platform: "...for I will forgive their wickedness, and will remember their sin no more." That is how God proposes to win this battle. When the Law fails, and we cannot respond the way we know we ought to, how are we going to win? It is changed when we begin to understand that provision has already fully been made for all our failure. God does not hold that failure against us. His love will be with us and will sustain us through even the results of our folly and our failure. He does not hold anything against us; he is for us, and will turn all the difficulty we are going through to our own advantage, so that it makes us transformed people. That is the New Covenant in action. As we learn to walk in dependence upon a new motive and a new power, in a new relationship with one another, resting upon the forgiveness of God, we discover that marvelous things are happening in our life.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for the way I am so sure I can make it myself. Help me to assume this poverty of spirit, which then opens to me the very riches of eternity. Help me to focus my thoughts on You and trust in You no matter what happens around me. Thank you Holy Spirit for living in me and thank you Lord Jesus for dying for me. I love you! In Your name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What are three life-changing aspects of the New Covenant God makes with his people? Do we see this as God entering into our pain and weakness and transforming it by His power and everlasting love?

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Everlasting Love - Jeremiah 31:1-22

“At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”...The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again,...There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’”

This is what the Lord says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth...They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

 “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’... They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more...I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” This is what the Lord says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.

 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the Lord my God. After I strayed,  I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated; because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:1-22

As a Father who cannot forget his son — no matter how sharply he must reprimand him, but whose heart is tender toward him — so God is tender toward his people. And behind the darkness and the distress is the everlasting love of God. This phrase, "I have loved you with an everlasting love," is very beautiful. The word "everlasting" is one of those words which baffle us. Even in the original language it is difficult to define. "Everlasting" connotes more than duration, means more than merely "eternal"; it has in it an element of mystery. Let your mind run back into the past over all the years of history, and you come to a place where finally you just cannot think any further. Yet logic affirms that even beyond this point there has been existence and time. This is what "everlasting" means. Let your mind run into the future, and you come to the same kind of haziness, a place where you no longer can comprehend what the ages mean, where times and durations seem meaningless. That is the vanishing point in the future, beyond which lie experiences for God's people, but which we are unable to grasp. That is the mystery of this word, everlasting. It is a word which means, "beyond dimension,""greater than we can think." This is what Paul is expressing in Ephesians: "...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge," (Ephesians 3:18-19a RSV).

So when you get to the place where the sins of the past, and those of your mothers and fathers before you, are taking their toll upon your life, and you are tempted to cry out and say, "Why? Why should this happen to me? What have I done to deserve this?" When this happens, God is at pains to remind us that in the midst of it what we are experiencing is his everlasting, mysterious love.

That is, he is saying to us, "Look, it may pain you, but it won't damage you. This very hurt you are going through is what will produce in you the character that both you and I want. It is this which will mellow you, refine you, soften you, open you up, make you a human being. Instead of a hard, callous, resistant, self-centered person, you'll become open and responsive and selfless." That is what God is saying. That is the mysterious quality of this love which draws us on. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." In other words, "I have not let you miss out on anything which I have planned for you, as a result of the exercise of the flesh in your life." That sounds strange to us, does it not? We want to escape the consequences. Instead, God leads us through them.

Prayer: Thank you, Father for your everlasting love, which endures forever. Thank you Jesus that I can hold onto You and know that You will always be there for me. I love you! In Your name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: Are we learning to see God's Father love in his disciplines? Are we awed by the vastness of his incomprehensibly eternal love for his children?

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We Reap What We Sow - Jeremiah 30:1-24

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”...“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,’ declares the Lord.

‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. I am with you and will save you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure;    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’...

Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you. “‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’

“This is what the Lord says: “‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before me;... “‘So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’”

See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand this.

Jeremiah 30:1-24

God takes the full responsibility for what happens to Israel. He says, "I have done these things to you." It is as though he stands with his hands on his hips and says to them, "Look, I'm responsible. Any questions?" He says that it is because of their sins, their flagrant sins.

We do not want to read this as though it is something remote from us. If you are inclined to say only, "Oh, it's such a pity what's going to happen to Israel," remember that this is your story, too. This is the way God works. He deals with Israel this way because this is the way he deals with everybody. There is a scriptural principle reflected here which all too often we forget. Just because judgment does not fall immediately upon people, they think they have gotten by. But Paul says, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction..." (Galatians 6:7-8a). That is inevitable. God does not cancel that out by the forgiveness of sin. That is part of what we call the natural consequences of evil, the temporal judgment of God. It is never canceled out, any more than the rest of what Paul says is canceled out: "...whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:8b) This is God's promise for now — not just in heaven some day but now. The joy and glory of life will come to us if we walk in the Spirit, and that is inevitable. But so is the judgment for our sin, the inevitable consequences of our own selfish choices.

This means, of course, that ultimately a recompense comes to us in life now for the evil in which we have indulged our flesh — whether it is blatant, open, sensual evil, or whether it is inward — spiritual pride, bitterness, and all the other sins of the spirit. It makes no difference. Evil brings its own results. As someone has well said, "You can pull out the nail driven into the wall, but you can't pull out the nail hole."

God reminds us here that there will be pain and heartache and trouble because of the evil of our past. The sins of our youth will catch up to us — usually in middle age! And there is no escape. As Kipling has said, "The sins that they did two by two, they pay for one by one." God says this is inevitable. It is inevitable for his people Israel; it is inevitable for us as well. Yet even in that trial, God is present in His mercy and grace.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the lesson I learn as I sometimes must walk through the consequences of my own poor choices. But thank you that your grace is still sufficient even for these things. I put my full trust in Your Son Jesus Christ. In His name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: Are we surprised by the inevitable consequences of our sins? Are we also surprised by joy when the Spirit produces good fruit through our walk with Christ? Do we recognize both as aspects of God's sovereign initiative?

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God Knows - Jeremiah 29:1-32

This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon...It said:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ...

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”...

Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’ For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord...

Jeremiah 29:1-32

This was a time of terrible uncertainty. People were torn — "What shall I believe?" There were many conflicting voices, many rival factions. The supreme need of the hour was that someone might know the facts and declare them, and thus give the people an indication of what to do. God says, "I am the one who knows. I know what is going on in the inner lives of these people, and I will make it known, I will bring it out." That is the voice you can trust.

God makes known his way and his will and the truth in three ways in the Scriptures. First, in past history. I would commend to you the reading of history. History records all the errors that we see around us today. The solutions are also recorded. No new error is introduced into the world which has not already been answered.

Second, in current events. He is always bringing truth to life. That is why we as a nation go through difficulties. We have seen many times how everything that the most powerful men of our nation think they can keep hidden is forced into the light. That is the way God works in the affairs of men.

And third, God makes the truth known through the direct revelation of his word, the truth as it is in Jesus, coming to the man of God who speaks it out before the people.

So in this day of confusion, of uncertainty, which voice will you listen to? The voices of the occult world around us? The false prophets who are telling visions which they claim to be coming from the voice of God? The secular voices which tell us that things are not the way the Bible says they are? Which voice will you listen to? Whom will you follow? What will be the guideline for your actions? The message of Jeremiah is: "God rules in the affairs of men. And if you want to know how to behave now, listen to God, for he is the one who knows, and who makes known."

Prayer: Father, thank you that you are the One before whom I stand naked, with nothing hidden, and that you are the one who exposes and brings to light. I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart may be acceptable in your sight. Thank you Jesus for the example you set for me and thank you Holy Spirit for guiding and directing my days. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What are three resources which will serve to reveal to us God's way, his will and the truth? Is his criteria informing our minds and responses? Are we personally inviting his penetrating scrutiny?

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In His Hands - Jeremiah 26:1-24

Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord:  “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. 

Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse among all the nations of the earth.’”

The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord.  But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord...

Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.’  “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”

(Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king was determined to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Akbor to Egypt, along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.)

Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

Jeremiah 26:1-24

This is an official gathering, a trial being held. Jeremiah has been impeached by the people. And the religious authorities of the nation, the priests and the prophets, are behind this. They have laid a serious charge, a charge of treason, against the prophet. These people felt that because the temple was God's house, God would defend that temple no matter what happened within it. They thought the temple was inviolate, and that the city was protected, because it was the city of God. They were saying, "It can't happen here!" But Jeremiah said it would happen. So they laid against him a charge of blasphemy and treason against the temple of God and the city of God.

Notice in Jeremiah's response that there is not the slightest deviation on his part. This would have been the time, if he were so inclined, to have said to these people, "Now just a minute. I want to make one thing perfectly clear! I have indeed prophesied, but I didn't mean to have it taken as seriously as you are doing. I'm sure that if you'll let me off, I can intercede before God for you, and perhaps he'll change his mind." But he does not say that. He does not alter his word one bit: "Amend your ways and your doings, and the Lord will repent of the evil which he has pronounced against you."

Jeremiah does what the people of God have been exhorted to do all through the Scriptures at times like this: leave it in God's hands. The battle is His. If you are charged unjustly with something you are not guilty of, do not try to defend yourself. The battle is God's. Leave it to him. He will work it out. Put yourself in the hands of God, and he will see you through. 

This is what Peter says about the Lord Jesus: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted in him who judges justly." This is what Jeremiah does. So often we are so concerned about defending ourselves, vindicating ourselves. We are so concerned lest somebody think something wrong about us. It is perfectly all right to explain things as far as possible. But when it is evident that nobody is willing to listen, then just put it in God's hands. He knows what he is doing.

Prayer: Lord, give me the courage and the faith to put everything in your hands. May I not argue and be anxious but rest in You. You are my defender. My life and my reputation are in Your hands. In Jesus' name, our example and friend, Amen. 

Life Application: When we respond to God's call to be his witnesses, do we equivocate his Truth? When we anticipate the possibility of rejection and persecution, do we confidently place ourselves in God's hands?

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True Leadership - Jeremiah 22:1 - 23:8

This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there:  Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”... “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”

 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor... “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord.

 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.  Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.  “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.  I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

Jeremiah 22:1 - 23:8

Jeremiah stands before king Zedekiah with a message that the leadership of the nation was terribly wrong. All through the Bible, leaders are to be shepherds of the people, watching over them and taking care of them. This is what this king, and others like him, had failed to do. Leaders are to be an example of righteousness and justice before the people. It is a very serious thing when elected officials do things which are wrong because every leader is, as Paul makes clear to us in Romans 13, a minister of God. He may not be a believer, but he himself is an agent of God, and is to represent God's standard of righteousness. Therefore, when these leaders of the land are guilty of wrongdoing, the effect of their wrongdoing is far greater than if they were just ordinary citizens. Jeremiah was sent to tell this king that this was what was wrong in his life. He had failed to correct the leaders of the land and to be an example of justice and righteousness.

Another thing that government leaders are to do: "Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow." These are the minority groups in any country, the weak, the helpless. The king is told here that it is his task to watch that he does no violence to them. Here is a recognition of the power of government to hurt the weak. Bureaucracy can grow up, making it easy to turn a deaf ear and to be unavailable to those who are really in trouble. Special care must be taken by any government to watch over the weak among them.

Finally, Jeremiah is given a vision of the true shepherd. For the first time in this great prophecy he looks down through the centuries, and sees the coming of One who would fulfill God's ideal, and on beyond that to the time when he will return again actually to carry it out in practice: "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior" (Jeremiah 23:5-6). That is the name applied to Jesus by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians 1:30: "...Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." He himself is our righteousness. So the prophet sees him coming as God's rightful King, and one day to come again so that Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.

Prayer: Lord God of hosts, may my mind and heart be open to understand what you are doing in the nations of our day. Help me to bow before you and let you search my heart, that I may be a vessel fit for your use. I give You my life. In Your name Jesus I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: To whom are national leaders ultimately responsible? What essential characteristics does God require of these leaders? Who is the ultimate Shepherd and rightful King?

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God's Faithfulness - Jeremiah 20:11-13

But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.

Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.

Jeremiah 20:11-13

Previously in this chapter, Jeremiah poured out his complaint to the Lord while he was in the stocks. But now faith comes to Jeremiah's rescue and begins to strengthen him. Faith counterattacks to uphold the tottering prophet. Jeremiah is now fighting back against the assault he is victim of. He begins now to reckon on reality, to count as truth what God had made known to him. That is the way to handle any frightening situation. You can be almost sure that the way you see it is not really the way it is. This is what you have to remember. It appears to be that way, but it is not that way. Your mind is being assaulted, your thoughts twisted and distorted by a naturalistic view of things. The only answer is to begin with God, the unchangeable One, the One who sees things the way they really are. Start with him and with what he has told you, and work from that back to your situation, and you will see it in an entirely different light.

This is what the prophet does here. He starts with God. "The Lord is with me [that is the first thing to remember], and he is a mighty warrior [he knows how to fight, how to repel assaults]; therefore my persecutors will stumble [their plans are not going to work out], they will not overcome me. In fact, they will be greatly ashamed, for they will not succeed." Faith reassures him that this is what will happen. And this is the correct view, because this is what happened. And so he cries out, Verse 13: "Sing to the Lord; give praise the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked" (Jeremiah 20:13)

That sounds like the account of the incident in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas, thrown into the dungeon and thrust into stocks at Philippi, began at midnight to sing praises to God, because their faith was fastened onto God and his greatness, and not upon their circumstances. This is what Jeremiah learned to do — to sing praises to the Lord.

What allowed him to do this? Perhaps Jeremiah remembered what God had said to Jeremiah in Chapter 1: "I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled," (Jeremiah 1:12). So even though it may take a while, even though things do not go right at first, do not be shortsighted and blame God, for he will "watch over his word to perform it."

A verse in Paul's letter to Timothy gathers this up for us beautifully. Paul wrote to Timothy, in an hour of great turbulence, and said, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot disown himself" (2 Timothy 2:13).

Prayer: Thank you, heavenly Father, for this reminder of your faithfulness to the prophet Jeremiah, and your faithfulness to your promises today. Help me to take all my difficult situations and start with You, allowing You to defend me and work through them for Your glory and my best purposes. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. 

Life Application: What is our point of reference when evaluating life's perplexing circumstances? Are we training our minds to begin with God's Truth and his faithfulness?

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